I didn't really think there was a plethora of backhandedness going on. I think most of the time the writer was pointing out that the story in retrospect seemed to waver out of the gate. If the issues hadn't been impactful, the writer wouldn't still be poring over the articles to connect dots that obviously pointed toward something larger happening.

At the time I read the JB Hulk issues, I was fifteen and my mind was reeling from the fact that JB was doing the Hulk at all. To me, it seemed like there was a lot of stuff JB was trying to fix in a hurry, mostly to do with character integrity of the Hulk's supporting cast. It's easy to see that JB intended to reforge a bond between the Hulk and his cast, and the readers and the cast, which had been lost during Mantlo-Vision.

This was during a time when JB's storytelling was changing, I think. It had been noticeable on the FF for some time before. The pace was more in tune with later JB, a pace built around ideas and practices, the mechanics of the pulpy serial story of the early JB FF given way to more intellectual considerations.

And like any good JB, recognizing his Hulk audience, he didn't waver from producing some of the most stunning fight panels seen in the Hulk in a while. The one thing JB did with those fights, you'll note, is increase the "heavyweight" density of the characters. They move like heavily-muscled beasts, with unnatural speed in some cases, and unbelievable power. It's why people still talk about the Avengers/ Hulk fight or the Doc Samson knockout. There was more weight, literally and figuritively, in the struggle.

I still can't believe JB didn't get around to a Hulk/Thing fight. KILLS me.

Well, that nut calling himself Joe Zhang

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Didn't that guy used to post here ?

Didn't that guy used to post here ?
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I may be wrong but as quoted 'That nut CALLING himself ....'

Not sure that it is the real Joe as I seem to remember him being cloned by a fair few people back in the day.

Joel--The Beyonder did, in a manner of speaking, trick Alpha Flight into bringing the Hulk back to Earth. Remember on the final page of Incredible Hulk #312 that he redirected the energy line that Alpha Flight sent through other dimensions. It would likely not have found the Hulk otherwise.

Ah, then my bad. I only read the Alpha Flight issue (JB's last) for that viewpoint. I'm pretty sure that from their perspective, the "fishing line" to the Hulk happened after their encounter with the Beyonder. But I wasn't reading the Hulk then, and didn't even consider that could have been part of that story!

Paul, I feel quite certain that the guy who posted on Gary's blog calling himself "Joe Zhang" is probably posting here today.  Under whatever name or names he has set up for himself here.  And he probably pats himself on his back for his own cleverness.